Scale attachment system for knife with removable scales

Abstract

The disclosure is related to knives (fixed blade or folding) with removable scales and scale attachment systems for such knives. In accordance with some examples herein a scale attachment system for a knife having a blade and a handle defined, at least in part, by a pair of scales removably attached to the blade, includes a plurality of U-shaped clips, each of which is configured to be received in a pair of corresponding grooves on opposite sides of the handle. In examples herein, each of the clips may extend transversely along a spine side of the handle and at least along a portion of the two opposite sides of the handle adjacent to the spine side.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A knife having a handle, the knife comprising:
 a blade having a tang and comprising a blade edge and a spine; 
 first and second opposing scales removably coupled to the blade to form a handle comprising a spine side proximate the spine, wherein the first and second scales are provided in a spaced apart arrangement to accommodate the tang therebetween, wherein each of the first and second scales comprises a plurality of grooves formed on an outwardly-facing side of the respective scale, wherein each of the plurality of grooves comprises a first portion formed in the outward facing side of the respective scale and connects to a second portion formed in a side of the respective scale adjacent to the outward facing side; and 
 a scale attachment system comprising a plurality of clips, each comprising a first portion removably received in a respective groove of the first scale, a second portion removably received in a respective groove of the second scale, and a connecting portion joining the first and second portions and which extends across and is visible on the spine side of the handle, and wherein the connecting portion of each of the plurality of clips engages a spine side of the tang. 
 
     
     
       2. The knife of  claim 1 , wherein the tang is integrally formed with the blade, the tang having a grip side and opposite first and second tang sides extending between the grip side and the spine side of the tang, and wherein the first scale is disposed against the first tang side and the second scale is disposed against the second tang side when the knife is in the handle is assembled. 
     
     
       3. The knife of  claim 2 , wherein the connecting portion of each of the plurality of clips is received in a corresponding slot on the spine side of the tang. 
     
     
       4. The knife of  claim 2 , wherein the first scale is co-extensive with the first tang side and the second scale is co-extensive with the second tang side. 
     
     
       5. The knife of  claim 2 , wherein the tang includes at least one weigh-balance feature. 
     
     
       6. The knife of  claim 2 , wherein the at least one balance feature includes a through aperture formed in a portion of the tang concealed by the first and second scales when the knife is in the assembled configuration. 
     
     
       7. The knife of  claim 2 , wherein one or more of the plurality of clips has a different geometry from an adjacent clip. 
     
     
       8. The knife of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of clips is retained in the respective groove by at least one fastener. 
     
     
       9. The knife of  claim 8 , wherein each of the plurality of clips is attached to the handle by at least two fasteners. 
     
     
       10. The knife of  claim 9 , wherein the at least two fasteners attaching a given clip to the handle are co-axially aligned with one another in the assembled configuration. 
     
     
       11. The knife of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of clips and the respective groove are configured for a cooperating fit with one another, wherein the cooperating fit constrains relative movement between the clip and the respective groove in all but one degree of freedom. 
     
     
       12. The knife of  claim 11 , wherein the cooperating fit is a dovetail fit between the clip and the respective groove. 
     
     
       13. The knife of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of clips is retained in the respective groove by a cooperating fit between the clip and the respective groove. 
     
     
       14. The knife of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of clips includes at least three clips. 
     
     
       15. The knife of  claim 14 , wherein the plurality of clips are parallel to one another when the handle is the assembled. 
     
     
       16. The knife of  claim 1 , wherein the connecting portion of each of the plurality of clips is configured to position the first and second scales in the spaced apart arrangement. 
     
     
       17. The knife of  claim 16 , wherein the connecting portion of each of the plurality of clips includes a protrusion extending from an inwardly-facing side of the connecting portion. 
     
     
       18. The knife of  claim 1 , wherein the knife is a folding knife, and wherein the one of the plurality of clips is positioned proximate to the blade such that the clip limits rotation of the blade when rotating the blade from a folded configuration to an unfolded configuration. 
     
     
       19. A knife kit including the knife of  claim 1 , the kit comprising a single blade and at least two different sets of first and second scales, at least two different sets of clips, at least two different sets of fasteners, or any combination thereof. 
     
     
       20. A knife with a handle having removable scales, the knife comprising:
 a blade comprising a blade edge and a spine; 
 a tang integrally formed with the blade, the tang comprising a grip side, a spine side, and opposite first and second tang sides extending between the grip side and the spine side; 
 a first scale and a second scale, each disposed on and coextensive with at least a portion of the respective one of the first and second tang sides; and 
 a scale attachment system for removably attaching the first and second scales to the tang, the scale attachment system comprising a plurality of clips, each comprising a first portion received in a respective groove in the first scale, a second portion received in a respective groove in the second scale, and a connecting portion joining the first and second portions, wherein the connecting portion extends transversely across the spine side of the tang engaging the spine side of the tang, and a plurality of fasteners removably received in respective fastener holes in the clips for removably attaching each of the plurality of clips to the tang thereby removably attaching the respective ones of the first and second scales to the tang.